Nokia has taken to making handsets specifically targeted at the satellite navigation market with its recent spate of new releases. The Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition is, as many will realise, not a completely new phone but rather an updated edition of the popular 5800 XpressMusic phone released earlier this year. With the relatively sparse updates, all of which are aimed at improving the navigation capabilities of this phone, should you consider picking up a Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition over the basic 5800, which will presumably be on sale at a lower price point.

Included in the package is a lifetime subscription to Nokia’s Drive and Walk navigation services. These are fairly self-explanatory, giving you access to controls and options tailored for using the GPS whilst you are in a vehicle or on foot. Since the subscription is presumably included in the price of the phone you will not need to worry about monthly payments, which is a nice touch.

The Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition also comes with the most up to date version of the Ovi Maps software and there is an 8GB micro SD memory card included in the box which contains all of the mapping you will need to get started. You should also be able to download additional maps from the Ovi Store if you ever need to take the 5800 Navigation Edition further afield.

To help make the Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition a decent GPS option for road users, there is a car-mounting kit included in the basic retail package. The 5800 Navigation Edition is a touch screen phone and has a 3.2 inch widescreen display that is bright enough for use in most light conditions whilst you are driving your vehicle. There were some complaints surrounding the original 5800 with regard to the resistive technology utilised by its touch sensitive screen and this is still present in the Navigation Edition. However, this is not a likely to prove to be a serious problem with the 5800.

On the outside the Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition looks virtually identical to the original 5800. There is silver detailing around the edge of the screen rather than red and it is all in all a quiet and subtle phone. On the rear there is the same 3.2 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and Carl Zeiss optics, allowing it to take good quality still images as well as full motion video.

The 5800 Navigation Edition is a versatile media phone. Music playback is possible either using the 3.5mm headphone jack, the wireless Bluetooth connectivity or the built in stereo speakers. The speakers are particularly impressive, offering powerful bass when compared to other mobiles of this type.

The 5800 Navigation Edition has 3G connectivity and also features built in Wi-Fi, which means that when you do not have it strapped to the dashboard of your car letting you know where you are, you can use it to browse the internet and download files at high speed.

The one thing that may hamper the 5800 Navigation Edition is its price. At over £250 the Nokia is £100 more expensive than standalone sat-nav units with equivalent functionality. That means that unless you need a new phone and do not already own a GPS unit you will not find the new version of the 5800 particularly alluring. However, if you feel the above criteria suit your needs then there is no better phone on the market today. The 5800 packs in enough features to stay competitive in the context of similar handsets and it performs well enough as a web browsing, media playing, camera sporting phone to merit fairly wide interest.